Commission Colleagues: Below is a sample press release and social media messages for announcing the 2015AmeriCorps grants for your state. For a profile of current AmeriCorps programs in your state, click here. For more information, please contact .

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASECONTACT:

DATE:PHONE & EMAIL:

Governor [NAME] Announces AmeriCorps Grant[s] to [State] Organizations

[Number] AmeriCorps members to meet state and local needs

STATE CAPITAL – [GOVERNOR] today announced that[STATE] has received [DOLLAR FIGURE] in AmeriCorps funding from the Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS).

These grants will support [NUMBER] AmeriCorps membersacross the state to serve with [NUMBER] organizations. AmeriCorps members will tackle critical challenges in [STATE] including [DESCRIPTION OF ACTIVITIES MEMBERS WILL UNDERTAKE, FROM FACT SHEET.]

“National service is an essential part of the solution to many of the challenges facing our state,” said [GOVERNOR / STATE COMMISSION ED NAME]. “These AmeriCorps members will meet pressing local needs and strengthen communities as they develop civic and leadership skills to last a lifetime. I congratulate these outstanding organizations and thank all those who serve their communities through AmeriCorps.”

“AmeriCorps members make a powerful impact on the toughest challenges facing our nation,” said CNCS CEO Wendy Spencer. “Building on [STATE]’s strong tradition of neighbor helping neighbor, AmeriCorps members will improve lives and strengthen communities across the state. As they serve others, AmeriCorps members will also expand opportunity for themselves - gaining skills and experience to jumpstart their careers.”

Of the total funding amount, [$XX] million will be granted to the [COMMISSION NAME], the Governor-appointed state service commission, which in turn will award grants to nonprofit organizations and public agencies across the state. The law creating AmeriCorps gave a key role to states in determining how national service resources are used and promoting service and volunteering to meet community needs. [IN ADDITION, $XX IN FUNDING IS BEING AWARDED TO MULTI-STATE PROGRAMS HEADQUARTERED IN [STATE], CREATING UP TOXX IN ADDITIONAL AMERICORPS POSITIONS.]

CNCS will make available [DOLLAR FIGURE FROM FACT SHEET] in Segal AmeriCorps Education Awards for the AmeriCorps members funded by these grants. After completing a full term of service, AmeriCorps members receive an award of $5,730that they can use to pay for college or to pay off student

loans.

In addition to competitive grants, [STATE] also received [FORMULA ALLOCATION AMOUNT] in funding to support additional AmeriCorps grants to organizations in [STATE] being made later this summer.

The current year’sAmeriCorps grant cycle was highly competitive, due to the strong demand by organizations seeking AmeriCorps resources. The 2015 competition prioritized investments in economic opportunity, education, veterans and military families, and disaster services.

AmeriCorps engages 75,000 members in intensive service annually to serve through nonprofit, faith-based, and community organizations at 25,000 locations across the country. These members help communities tackle pressing problems while mobilizing millions of volunteers for the organizations they serve.

Since 1994, more than 900,000 Americans have provided more than 1 billion hours of service addressing critical challenges from poverty and hunger to disasters and the dropout crisis. In [STATE], more than [NUMBER FROM STATE PROFILE] AmeriCorps members have served [HOURS] hours and earned more than [DOLLAR AMOUNT OF SCHOLARSHIPS] in education scholarships.

Below is a listing of 2015 AmeriCorps competitive grants in [STATE NAME]:

  • [ADD BULLETED LIST OF GRANTS WITH DOLLAR AMOUNT, NUMBER OF SLOTS, AND SHORT DESCRIPTION OF ACTIVITIES]

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[ADD STATE COMMISSION BOILERPLATE]

AmeriCorps is administered by the Corporation for National and Community Service, a federal agency that engages more than five million Americans in service through AmeriCorps, Senior Corps, the Social Innovation Fund, and the Volunteer Generation Fund, and leads the President's national call to service initiative, United We Serve. For more information, visit

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Sample Social Media Posts for 2015 AmeriCorps Grants

Tweets (Twitter):

  • [STATE] is proud to receive new funding from @nationalservice that will support [NUMBER] @AmeriCorps members. #AmeriCorps20
  • Congrats to [ORGANIZATION NAME OR TWITTER HANDLE] for receiving an @AmeriCorps grant from @NationalService!
  • [ORGANIZATION NAME OR TWITTER HANDLE] just received a [DOLLAR AMOUNT] @AmeriCorps grant from @NationalService. Congrats!

Facebook Post:

Congrats to (organization name(s)/facebook tag) for receiving an @AmeriCorps grant & thanks to all those who have answered the call to service by joining AmeriCorps!